Editor's Note: This piece picks up where yesterday's "Cuba's Gay Politics Mired In Past" left off. The uninitiated may want to catch-up.

As the decades wore on and the Communist government found its internal popularity sagging, officials had no choice but to make certain concessions and open their doors to less desirable elements. Not only would the move ensure political survival, says Cuba-born AIDS activist Leonard Chacon, but also had a decidedly diplomatic purpose:

Now because the government has not so many followers, they have to get people from other areas of society, like gay, like Catholic, people from other religions. Because in the past, if you belong to the Communist Party, you cannot be a gay… Now it's different. They want to bring a better image to the other people, to the international community.

And these international public relations efforts put Cuba in a sticky situation.

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Cuba's been going through a bit of a political puberty as of late. Last February, after 49-years in power, long-time leader Fidel Castro stepped aside and handed the presidency to his brother, Raul. Though still all in the family, many see Raul's ascension as a positive move for the island, a sign that the communist government could evolve.

A little over a month later, Mariela Castro, the president's daughter and leader of the government-backed Center for Sexual Diversity (CENESEX), took a progressive step when she called on the government to rewrite the 70s-era Family Code and pave the way for civil unions.

The “revolutionary redefinition” of family, says CENESEX spokesperson Alberto Roque Guerra, goes straight to epicenter of Cuba’s gay problem: “Family is the core of society. Homophobia and transphobia are first seen within the family. The fight against homophobia awareness is focused on the family as the main goal.” However true that may be, Guerra's declaration purposefully ignores decades of state-sanctioned homophobia. What’s more, CENESEX's push for equality eschews the true goal: assimilation.

The government’s modest progress – as well as its dubious explanations – has as much with political survival and public relations as it does with cultural evolution. Sifting through the various truths, one finds a debate shaded by political ideology, Cold War-inspired misconception and not a small amount of spin.

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Things are loco in Cuba! First the Catholic Church came out against the gay rights movement, which has largely been led by first daughter Mariela Castro. Now there are reports that police shut down today's pride march, which would have been the nation's first.

The unofficial march, organized with Florida's Unity Coalition, was not sanctioned by Cuba's National Center for Sex Education, which is headed by Mariela Castro, the daughter of President Raul Castro.

Activist Mario Jose Delgado announced the cancellation of the march moments before it was to start Wednesday at a park in Havana. He said two organizers who were to deliver a set of demands to the Justice Ministry were detained one day earlier. Delgado said he has no details of the arrests.

"The president of the Cuban League Against AIDS and the president of the Foundation LGTB Reinaldo Arenas in Memoriam have been arrested," Delgado said. "They were to be here with our written demands but now we cannot carry out our activity."

Some are also saying that police beat organizers, who planned to start the march in Don Quixote park. We'd laugh at the irony, but, frankly, it's not funny.

California isn't the only place loving up on the gays. France and Cuba both made headway - and headlines - this weekend after signing onto International Day Against Homophobia, which took place on Saturday.

Cuba's endorsement of the self-explanatory event comes less than two months after first daughter Mariel Castro (pictured, center) proposed civil union legislation.

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In the wake of Cuban president Fidel Castro's resignation earlier this year, the balance of power has shifted not only to his brother, Raul, but to another Castro, Mariela, Raul's daughter.

An outspoken gay advocate and head of the National Center for Sex Education, Mariela Castro uses her position to affect positive social change. Now, with her uncle out of power and her father in, Castro's gearing up for a lavender invasion, proposing legislation that will bring bent boys and girls closer to their heterosexual peers.

And she may be making all the right moves.

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• President Bill Clinton be tired of MLK.

• Cuban commies considering queer unions.

• You need new shoes. Let Refinery29 influence your decision.

• Christian school didn't break law with lesbian student boot, says California judge.

• Resurrected GOP icon and gay porn star Matt Sanchez may have lost his mind. Jeremy Hooper had an email exchange with him and it's pretty nonsensical. Sanchez seems to think "horndog" is a gay term of endearment. Because being horny's a good thing or because we all talk like overgrown boys?

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• Motorola helps break gay boy's heart.

• Former B2K member Raz B admits he lied about manager Chris Stokes molestation allegations. Raz B's brother, Ricky Romance, says otherwise. He also suggests Raz B may have been forced into the "admission".

• Queers help Obama campaign.

• Madonna's directorial debut - the contradictorily entitled Faith and Wisdom Filth & Wisdom - set to debut at Berlin Film Festival. Those Germans have the strongest stomachs.

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• We don't know how long this witch montage took, but pointy hats off to the creator! Oh, and great Eartha Kitt song!

• Chris Crocker wants to be Britney Spears: crotch flashing and all. Warning, this shit ain't cute. Nor is it safe for work.

• Cuban queers form rights group.

• This is fucked up! The Federal Emergency Management Agency (aka FEMA) held a fake press conference about the California fires. Again, fucked up.

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Some VIP Cubans were all about Robert Mapplethorpe last night, when Parliament Speaker Ricardo Alarcon hosted a private showing of the late Mapplethorpe's contentious works. This exhibit definitely ain't something you'd see fifteen years ago, when Cuba first legalized same-sex sex.

In one on of Mapplethorpe's most iconic - and most controversial - images, a man inserts his finger into his urethra. Not surprisingly, Mapplethorpe's sensual focus found many a conservative combatant. One of the most prominent examples can be found in Cincinnati, The city tried - and acquitted - the Contemporary Arts Centre and its director, Dennis Barrie for obscenity after they displayed Mapplethorpe's The Perfect Moment. How the times have changed.

Cuba - once a bastion of official homophobia - continues to evolve on social issues, however slowly. The government continues to debate including gays under the 1970s-era Family Code, nor do gays have the right to assembly.

(Note: A Bit "NSFW" after the jump.)

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Cuba's in mourning today after word spread that revolutionary hero Vilma Espin has died.

The 77-year old wife of acting President Raul Castro, Fidel's brother, Espin won countless Cuban - and international - fans after fighting for women's and gay rights. Al Jazeera reports:

Espin earned her revolutionary credentials by joining the armed struggle against Fulgencio Batista, the military ruler, in her hometown of Santiago, on Cuba's eastern coast, in 1956.

Rebelling against her wealthy upbringing - her father was an executive at the Bacardi rum distillery - Espin joined Castro's guerrillas in the Sierra Maestra mountains where she met Raul.

With her brother-in-law in power, Espin helped to establish and then lead [The Federation of Cuban Women] to fight illiteracy and bolster women's political participation, also campaigning on issues such as abortion, contraception and children's rights.
…
Espin also successfully pushed for the decriminalisation of homosexuality in 1979.

Had it not been for Espin's social conscience, Cuban gays would never have the space to negotiate more inclusive family rights - a battle they began yesterday.

Cuba may become the first Caribbean nation to recognize gay civil rights. Of course, such fag freedoms will only come about if the communist nation's Parliament reforms the Family Code, a big 'if' to say the least. Caribbean 360 reports:

Drawn up by the non-governmental Federation of Cuban Women (FMC) with support from CENESEX, the draft reform of the Family Code has been presented to the Political Bureau, the highest body of the ruling Communist Party…

The proposal would give homosexual couples the same civil and inheritance rights as heterosexual couples. However, it does not mention gay marriage, because a change of that magnitude would require a lengthy process of reforming the constitution, which was last amended in 1992.

While certainly gay marriage's ideal, activists assert Cuba's not ready for such a cultural shift.

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As you know, Fidel Castro's days are numbered. While no one seems to know what number we're on, it's been pretty clear since July that he'll soon be heading to the big commune in the sky.

In the meantime, he's handed power over to his baby bro: Raul Castro [pictured, in happier times]. One thing we're sure you'll find interesting, as the newly revived Radar Magazine did, is that Raul's a big 'mo. While not officially out, rumors of his cock sucking ways pervade the country and he's often referred to as "el maricon." For those of you not versed in Spanish, that means "the faggot". [See, who says blogs aren't educational?]

Radar writes: "Asked how widespread the belief is, a member of a Cuban exile family from Miami told Radar simply, 'Everyone knows Raul is gay.'"

So, if Fidel dies and Raul takes over, what are the odds he'll ditch this whole Communist thing and turn Cuba into one big gay party? Well, not very good, but it doesn't hurt to dream.

What's Eating Raul? [Radar Online]